Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Hello, everyone. It is such a pleasure to be here. I was just sharing that I recently watched Zootopia 2, so this is really coming to life for me. I am happy to be here with my friends, as well as the red pandas here at the Prospect Park Zoo, to announce a major win for immigrant-owned restaurants and small businesses across New York City. And I'm proud to be joined here to my left by leaders in our city administration, Deputy Mayor Julie Su [and] our Commissioner Sam Levine, and then to my right, elected officials who have been partners in this fight. We have Assembly Member Bobby Carroll, we have our Council Member and Chair of the relevant committee, Harvey Epstein, and we have our Council Member Shahana Hanif, who is also here joining us.
And we — all of us together — are thankful for the incredible work of the Prospect Park Zoo staff, to John Calvelli, who I just shared my commiserations with about the Italian national team; to Craig Piper, the interim VP of Zoos and Aquariums; [and] to Denise McClean for welcoming us here to Prospect Park Zoo. It's truly a pleasure, and I'm trying to find any which way that we can return for any of our future announcements. I just saw needles over there, a porcupine, in case others didn't get the chance to.
So, the red pandas behind me, eat 30 percent of their body weight in bamboo every day. They are very hungry pandas. Unlike the HungryPanda app, they, however, are not interested in bamboozling hard-working New Yorkers. For so many restaurants and businesses, it is already hard enough to balance daily costs, labor, rent, equipment [and] utilities. Even harder, frankly, to stay afloat when a delivery platform steals hard-earned revenue, fraud disguised as promotions or deductions. And that is exactly what HungryPanda, the app, has done.
Now, we are here today to announce that DCWP has won close to a million dollars in restitution and penalties for more than 380 restaurants. Many of these are immigrant-owned restaurants in neighborhoods like Sunset Park and Flushing, and this is the first-ever action to hold a delivery app accountable for violating the rights of New York City restaurant owners. This settlement also obligates HungryPanda to provide fee disclosures, to implement [a] compliance policy and to submit annual compliance certification.
Now, for those who have been following us over the course of our 100 days, [you] will know that this is the second major win that we've announced against HungryPanda in three months. Again, not this hungry panda, but Hungry Panda, the app. Alongside Uber Eats and Fantuan, HungryPanda was ordered to pay more than $5 million to almost 50,000 delivery workers for pay rate violations. Now, City Hall, as well as our partners in elected government at both the city and the state level, has no tolerance for the exploitation of workers or small businesses, or frankly, of a system rigged at the expense of working people.
We are putting abusers of these laws and violators of them on notice. If you break these laws, we will hold you accountable. We will hold you accountable because it is time to have a city where when people play by the rules, they are not being put at a disadvantage because those who are breaking them are allowed to do so with impunity. Now, to the hungry pandas behind me, that commitment is also for you too. You will be held, adorable. Now, with that being said, I want to pass this over to our incredible Deputy Mayor, Julie Su.
Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Economic Justice: When someone opens a restaurant in New York City, they are making a bet on New York. They are betting their savings, their sweat, their time, often everything they have on the idea that if they work hard, they can build something that matters [and] something that lasts. And that bet deserves to be honored. And it does not get honored when they are overcharged by a middleman now standing between their kitchen and their customer. It does not get honored when a company buries illegal fees in fine print, calling them different names so that no one can track them. This is not a new story. I've seen this in my time at the federal and the state level, that across our economy, access to things like medicine, information, entertainment [and] technology, middlemen have grown increasingly prevalent and have been squeezing small businesses.
So today we're talking about a delivery app. Delivery apps have become essential for restaurants, and they have used that position to charge more and more costs, counting on restaurants being too busy to notice and too small and too isolated to do anything about it. Well, not on our watch. The victims of Hungry Panda's corporate junk fees were often Chinese American and Asian American immigrant small business owners. And now, as the mayor just said, more than 380 of them will be getting some of their hard-earned earnings back.
And every delivery app operating in the city is now on notice. The rules apply to you. Workers and small businesses have much in common. They work hard. They're not asking for handouts, just a fair shake. And under Mayor Mamdani, this administration is working every single day to make sure that they get that. Laws are only meaningful if they're enforced. Rules only work if everyone has to play by them. And neighborhood restaurants are not side characters in the city's economy. They create jobs, they build communities, and they're one of the clearest paths to ownership for immigrant New Yorkers. When we protect them, we protect our city. And today and every day, we will continue to do that. And now I'm very pleased to introduce our commissioner of the DCWP, Sam Levine.
Commissioner Sam Levine, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection: Thank you, Deputy Mayor Su. Thank you, Mayor Mamdani. Thank you to the hungry pandas behind us. Today's announcement is a very important one. Yes, we are celebrating more than half a million dollars being delivered to restaurants across New York City, but we're also here to make a broader point. There's a well-worn tactic of calling government action anti-business and government inaction pro-business. Today's announcement turns that argument on its head. This is the first ever DCWP action enforcing the city's cap on junk restaurant fees, the first time we've been able to deliver tens of thousands of dollars of relief to small restaurants, and the first time a delivery app has been required to pay a civil penalty to the City of New York for violating this law. In this new era in New York City, we recognize that business is not a monolith. Some of the largest firms in the world are exploiting small businesses in the same way they're exploiting consumers.
Mayor Mamdani has charged DCWP with leading a citywide crackdown on junk fees, and we are delivering. From a nation-leading ban on hotel junk fees to lawsuits against companies that rip people off with installation fees, storage fees and towing fees, we are working every day to get money back in consumers' pockets. But today's action makes clear, it is not only consumers being hit with junk fees. What we see in this case is HungryPanda deploying a host of tricks and traps to obscure from restaurants how much they were actually paying in fees. A commission fee, a merchant promotion fee [and] receipts full of mystery charges and fuzzy math.
These tactics should sound familiar to any New Yorker who's ever been nickeled and dimed. And I want to be clear that the restaurants being cheated, as [the] Deputy Mayor alluded to, didn't have large accounting firms or law firms to sort this all out and fight back. These were small businesses, many of them immigrant-owned. And this was part of HungryPanda's strategy. Positioning itself as the go-to app for users, more comfortable ordering in Asian languages, and then using that positioning to exploit the very businesses it was supposed to serve.
Just a few weeks ago, as the mayor alluded to, DCWP announced a separate action against HungryPanda for underpaying its workers, also immigrants, many of them. The pattern is clear, and the response from the City of New York is decisive. So, to anyone watching this announcement, do not let the adorable pandas distract from the message. If you think you can get away with ripping off immigrant businesses and workers in the city, you are mistaken. If you think you can bury junk fees and mystery charges and fuzzy receipts, we will find them.
And if you break the law, we will hold you accountable without fear or favor. Because vigorous enforcement is not anti-business. Vigorous enforcement means money back in the pockets of small businesses. It means money back in the pockets of workers. It means money back in the pockets of consumers. This has been DCWP's mantra every day over these last 100 days, and we will only redouble our efforts going forward.
I am incredibly grateful to Mayor Mamdani and Deputy Mayor Su for their steadfast leadership in making the city more fair and more affordable. And I'm especially grateful to our DCWP staff, not only our attorneys but our investigators and our incredible support staff, for fighting every day on behalf of New Yorkers being ripped off. New Yorkers who can't hire lobbyists or lawyers to protect their interests. The people of this city and the small businesses of this city deserve nothing less. Thanks very much, and it's now my pleasure to introduce another champion for the people of New York, Council Member Harvey Epstein.
Council Member Harvey Epstein: Thank you, commissioner, and thank you, Mayor Mamdani and obviously Deputy Mayor Su. Thank you for your leadership. And to my colleagues, Council Member Hanif and Assemblymember Carroll, I'm happy to be here in Brooklyn. You know, New York is a small business economy. Fifty percent of our jobs are in small businesses. They are what our parents and grandparents got involved in. When my grandfather and my grandmother came here, they started a small business. My grandfather worked repairing cars, and then he opened up his first auto dealership, and they didn't understand the issues that they were dealing with. It is like [being] beholden on all of us in government to support those small businesses and protect them. And these large corporations are taking advantage of small businesses.
I really applaud the effort of the DCWP team to bring this case. The fight that we're doing over junk fees across our city sends a clear message that if you take advantage of small businesses, you will be held accountable. Not to mention, with less than two staff, we're getting $300,000 in fees back to the city. Those staff are paying for themselves, so [there is] more staff money, as you know. We could use more money for DCWP because it's paying for ourselves. We are making more industries whole. We're making more consumers whole. We're bringing millions and millions of dollars back to working-class New Yorkers, where they own small businesses, or they work in this great city.
This is a message we want to send to every company out there. If you are going to commit fraud, if you're going to try to hide hidden fees, whether it's hotel fees [or] junk fees, these fees on small businesses, this agency is going to find you, and we're going to make sure that you pay back to the city as you owe and make sure those businesses and those workers get repaid. This is a good day for New York City. I want to thank the mayor, deputy mayor, and the commissioner for all their work, and I'm going to hand it over to my great colleague, Council Member Hanif.
Council Member Shahana Hanif: Good morning, everyone. I'm Council Member Shahana Hanif. Thank you to our Mayor Mamdani, Deputy Mayor Su, Commissioner Levine, and my colleagues in government. I am just so proud to be at Prospect Park Zoo. I am grateful to represent the zoo, and I am also the vice co-chair of the Animal Welfare Caucus, which my colleague, Council Member Epstein, is the chair of. Also, I am a daughter of a small business owner, Radhuni, in Kensington. It's a Bangladeshi immigrant-owned business that we've been serving our community for years.
One thing I see in the community is a deep anxiety [and] fear to actually pair with a delivery app company because of the potential of this kind of fraud. What we don't want is our businesses to feel that way. We want our businesses to know that New York City's got their back, that anyone who is trying to start a new business can start a new business and know that their government's got their back. I am just proud and ecstatic to not [just] be with our pandas but also be with our workers and our small business owners. Behind these phrases are actual people. There are families who are in our schools, in our city [and] in our parks, and workers who are delivering the food, the medicine [and] whatever else that we need.
So, people, real people, are being impacted. And so, we are putting a warning to all delivery apps that we will not be defrauded, we will catch you, and we will make sure that you pay. That accountability in the city is front and center, and anyone trying to hurt our small businesses, our workers, will be in trouble. So, thank you again for having me. Really excited that we get to bring back money, almost a million dollars, to our small businesses and workers. And again, I encourage New Yorkers to keep supporting their small businesses, order your food, and also support your local zoo. Please keep coming to the zoo. Thank you.
Mayor Mamdani: And now we will close it out with our Assembly Member Bobby Carroll.
Assembly Member Bobby Carroll: Good morning. Thank you so much, Mayor Mamdani. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Su. Thank you, Commissioner Levine. Thank you to my colleagues, Council Member Shahana Hanif and Council Member Harvey Epstein. What I think is so great about this announcement is that the Mamdani administration is showing that we can unrig our economy.
There are so many people who are frustrated with what's going on in our city, in our state and in our country, because it seems like every time they try to step into the stream of commerce, there are people there who are looking to take advantage of them. And that's what was happening here with immigrant-owned small businesses, but it's happening throughout our society. And when we say with a clear voice that we are not going to allow predatory middlemen to siphon off the hard-earned profits and revenue of small businesses, we're saying to people: New York is open for business, New York is open for you to take risks [and] New York is open for you to make sure that your dreams can come true.
Because we know that one of the amazing things about New York City is that in our 400 neighborhoods, there are hundreds of unique restaurants, bars, and businesses that make New York City worth living in. And if we allow predatory apps to destroy those businesses and make a profit and take those dollars elsewhere, our city will be the lesser. And Mayor Mamdani has proven that he is laser-focused on fixing that problem. I commend him, and I'm always glad to keep working with him on that. Thank you, Mayor Mamdani.
Question: I know Council Member Epstein called you out on cutting the DCWP budget in your prelim. I know you've been asked about this. Do you plan to build, like, give them more dollars in the exec? And is this awkward for you at all, trumpeting this agency despite cutting its budget?
Mayor Mamdani: It is always an opportunity for us to celebrate the hard-working men and women of DCWP, and our commissioner has shown leadership in securing more than $9.3 million in settlements thus far, which averages out to a little less than $100,000 a day for workers and small businesses across the city. Now, the budget process is a process. It goes through a preliminary, an executive, and then an adopted. And we are a few weeks away from the executive. Those conversations are ongoing. What will never be in doubt, however, is the central place that DCWP holds, not just in receiving complaints, but also in being able to act upon those complaints.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: I was going to ask you about your DOI appointee. It came up in her Council confirmation hearing that she had donated to you and campaigned for you, canvassed for you during the mayoral race. Were you aware of that before you appointed her, and do you see any concern in that given the independent role that DOI is supposed to have?
Mayor Mamdani: We nominated her for this position specifically because of our confidence in her integrity, in her independence, and frankly, her track record, where she has served for years holding those accountable who have flouted the law. And we are looking to have that independence and that integrity in the leadership of DOI, and we see her as exactly the right person, and we're looking forward to that process.
Question: Were you aware of her donations and her campaigning for you, though?
Mayor Mamdani: No, I was not aware of that.
Question: How are you, or are you restricting certain public events during the World Cup, and could you explain the rationale for that? What's going to be affected by that?
Mayor Mamdani: So, we are a few days away from our first hundred days in office, and at the same time we're on a different calendar. We're less than 70 days away from the start of the World Cup. Now, we know the World Cup is going to be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the city. What it also demands is that we are prepared for it. And so, we are taking the steps to ensure that we have the requisite public sector capacity to deal with the number of events that will be a part of that World Cup.
And so, as part of that, things that would be regularly scheduled for that same time period, we're looking to find alternative dates to ensure that the city cannot just put on an event at this scale, but that it sets an excellent level of quality. And so, I will tell you that for many who come to this city, it will not just be to watch the game. It will be as an opportunity to explore this city. And so, we want this to be one where every single one of the five boroughs is ready for what also will be a multi-billion-dollar economic opportunity for this city.
Question: Just to follow up, let's say local parks, let's say here in Brooklyn. Will people still be allowed to picnic in the park or have their birthday parties and barbecues and things like that?
Mayor Mamdani: Yes. That's not in question. We're speaking about large-scale events that require permitting, police presence, things of that nature. If you're going to barbecue, you can barbecue.
Question: Council Speaker Julie Menin at NAN today took you on the budget yet again, saying that she had to protect Black New Yorkers from your proposed property tax hike. And it's in her words, “a hard no” to property taxes because she needs to protect Black homeowners and Black businesses. Your response to that and the fact that she seems to be elevating the debate with you on their budget proposal as opposed to your budget?
Mayor Mamdani: I share in the rejection of a property tax hike. When we put forward our preliminary budget on February 17th, I said then what I'll say now, which is that it is a path of last resort, one that we will spend every single day looking to avoid as we pursue a path of working with Albany to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations, and end the drain that has characterized the city's relationship with the state. And so, I encourage everyone who shares in that opposition to a property tax hike to join us in that advocacy. It will be critical as we move through not just the city budget, but also the state budget, to ensure that we can bridge a $5.4 billion fiscal deficit without having to put it on the backs of working-class and middle-class New Yorkers.
Question: She's now trying to take this debate and support her budget proposals over your budget proposals. She's the city council, but you are the mayor.
Mayor Mamdani: I think we all have a role to play. I think that there will be disagreements about proposals that are put forward. I shared my concerns around the proposal put forward by the council, and we will negotiate through it, we will talk through it, and then at the end of this process, we will agree on a budget that will balance it as per the law. And I'm looking forward to that, because what New Yorkers want is to finally see our city back on firm financial footing. What they have instead had to see is a city facing a fiscal crisis the likes of which dwarf even 2008.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Obviously, the City Council is having some reluctance to some of your proposals on the budget. The cuts that you want to have on agencies that you think are necessary, they have their own version as to — you know, they think it's not as necessary as you see it. What would be the middle ground for you to reach to that level so that you can pass your budget?
Mayor Mamdani: So, the things that will never be in question for me are the cutting of essential services to New Yorkers. We will never allow a New Yorker to have to go to sleep wondering whether those kinds of services will be in doubt the next morning. And so, when we put forward our preliminary budget, we said we were confident we could find $1.7 billion in savings. That's 1.5 percent in this fiscal year, 2.5 percent in the next fiscal year — and [these are] savings and efficiencies, not cuts to services. The crux of our concern around the Council's proposal was that it projected an inflated number of savings that we could not see in any of the data in front of us.
And if we were going to budget for that scale of multi-billion dollars in savings without the evidence to back it up, it would then force the city to find that same money in cutting services. That's something we never want to do. And that's why we've been talking about the fact that it's critical that we have a structural solution for a structural crisis. What I mean by that, this is a fiscal crisis that was created prior to our administration, prior to our agenda. It will recur unless we find an answer to it that also recurs. That's what we're looking for in these next few weeks.
Question: I want to follow up on the budget as well. Why do you think there's been this intense back and forth between you and the Council about these competing proposals to close the budget gap? You know, some of the things they said about what you put out was maybe you don't know math, you know, [that] your numbers are not adding up. And then also, you know, you talk about their inflated numbers. You originally, when you talked about the budget, you said it was at $12 billion. Two weeks later, you decreased it to $7 billion. So, you were able to find $5 billion in two weeks' time. Why is it so crazy that they're able to find $6 billion over a two-and-a-half-month period?
Mayor Mamdani: When we first told New Yorkers of the scale of the fiscal crisis we were facing, we made clear to them that it would be a crisis that would continue over weeks and months and one where the figure would change. However, we wanted to tell them that it was at $12 billion at the beginning of it. The reason for that is that is a far higher number than any administration typically inherits. We said at the moment of revealing the $12 billion that we knew that Wall Street profits and bonuses were still to be accounted for. We knew that those would be incorporated into this and also that we would take savings measures. So, the $1.7 billion that I was referring to earlier — that was part of how we reduced that $12 billion to $7 billion. Then the reduction of the 7 to 5.4 was a result of Governor Hochul committing $1.6 billion to the city. So, it went from 12, brought it down to 7, brought it down to 5.4. I am not in any way averse to reducing the deficit. That's what we want to do.
The issue at hand, however, is that when a plan is put forward that allocates billions of dollars in savings from a vacancy plan that we do not have any data to support, it is not one that I can in good conscience tell New Yorkers to trust. Especially as we are having a conversation with Albany, with the Governor [and] state legislative leaders, and speaking to them about the importance of putting our city back on a firm financial path, I have to be honest about the fact that these savings don't exist in the manner that could actually do so, and the need continues when it comes to Albany's partnership in putting us back at a balanced budget.
Question: When you think of the poll out this morning that found your approval rating at less than half, which is lower than both de Blasio and Mayor Adams, at the same points in their leadership?
Mayor Mamdani: I will always leave the grades to New Yorkers themselves. What I will say is that we are coming to the end of 100 days in office, and we have sought to make this period one where we provide New Yorkers with a glimpse as to what these next four years will look like. We've looked to be ambitious [and] unrelenting and move at the same speed as New Yorkers do. And so when I stand here alongside our commissioner, our deputy mayor, we do so acknowledging the $9.3 million we've won in settlements, the more than 6,000 apartments that are currently being repaired as part of the more than $30 million we've won from bad landlords in the city, the $1.2 billion we've won in partnership with the Governor to deliver universal child care in this city, and doing all of this while we also fill in more than 100,000 potholes in the city. And I will end by quoting the poet Pitbull, because after DOT has finished those 100,000 potholes, they are now going to pave more than 1,000 miles of road, which Pitbull would describe accurately as the “distance from New York City to Miami.” Thank you all so much.